Chapter 29

And so, I finally began my long-awaited challenge of the Kenzaki Dungeon.

The Kenzaki Dungeon consists of 30 floors, and the monsters that appear include orcs, horn rabbits, and red boars, among others.

Even though I have the level to handle them, I cannot afford to be complacent.

At the bottom floor, the boss is a high orc.

It is a very powerful monster with exceptional strength, so it is said that dodging its attacks is essential rather than taking them head-on. This suits me well.

If I can defeat the high orc, the dungeon completion rewards are a 25-level upgrade, a blast flame magic stone, and the Sword of Kenzaki.

The blast flame magic stone is an excellent magic item that would cost no less than 100,000 gold if bought normally.

The Sword of Kenzaki, while the name is rather cringeworthy, has a genuine effect of +300 attack power.

I want to obtain both of these items.

With that in mind, I steeled myself and began to advance.

After advancing for about 10 minutes, I immediately engaged in battle with orcs, my first encounter of the day.

---

【Orc】

- Recommended Level for Defeat: 300

- A brown, pig-faced monster that uses clubs and axes as weapons. It lacks speed but delivers powerful blows due to its extraordinary strength.

---

"GAHHH!"

"――――"

There are three orcs in front of me.

One of them swings its stone axe down with great force.

It's dangerous to block a stone axe with a short sword.

I quickly dodge the attack and counter with my short sword.

"Haah!"

One slash.

I give the orc a deep wound in its abdomen, but it doesn't die yet.

The monsters in E-rank and D-rank dungeons are clearly of a different caliber.

I want to follow up immediately, but the remaining two orcs attack from both sides in coordination.

I take a step back to create distance and extend my free left hand forward.

"Fire! Fire!"

A weak attack from初级魔法LV3.

But that's fine for now. My aim is to obstruct their vision, not to deal damage.

"GAH!"

"GAH!"

As intended, the two orcs stagger back after taking the fire in their faces.

This is the perfect opportunity to turn the tide of the battle.

I don't give them a chance to counter.

I swing my dream short sword repeatedly, dealing fatal blows.

Ten seconds later, I successfully defeated the three orcs.

"Let's take the magic stones from the corpses. And I'll take this too."

I pick up the stone axe lying on the ground.

It's a size and weight that can be handled with one hand.

I use my Appraisal LV1.

---

【Orc's Stone Axe】

- A stone axe equipped by an orc.

- Recommended Level for Equipment: 300

- Attack Power +100

---

"Sure enough, this is a C-rank dungeon. Even the weapons dropped by the monsters on the way have more than three times the effect of my dream short sword..."

Additionally, the recommended level for equipment is something I've never seen before.

This doesn't mean you can't use it if you're below the recommended level; it's just a reference.

If you have skills like body enhancement, you can use it even if your level is lower.

"Hmm, the effect is indeed attractive, but this is more of a blunt weapon. Since the attack power only differs by 70, I should continue using my short sword, which I'm more accustomed to. But I'll collect it just in case."

I used Appraisal on the stone axes of the other two orcs, and they had effects of +95 and +90, respectively.

Even though they are all 【Orc's Stone Axe】, their effects are slightly different.

I kept only the one with +100 attack power in my item box.

"Alright, that's done. Still, it's been a while since I've fought such strong monsters."

For the past few weeks, I've only fought monsters whose attacks barely reduced my HP by 1%.

However, if I were to take a hit from the monsters here, my HP could easily drop by more than 10%.

The tension during battles is completely different.

"I did buy the minimum health and magic recovery potions with the money I've earned recently, but I'll try to avoid using them as much as possible."

I've already confirmed that there are no bonus rewards for completing the dungeon on the first attempt.

I don't intend to force a completion this time.

I'll gradually regain my combat skills by fighting the monsters along the way.

For the same reason, I don't plan to use the dungeon's internal transfer to go to lower floors.

Well, there's also the reason that I'm not sure if I can handle a large number of such powerful monsters at the transfer destination.

With renewed determination, I began to advance.